The Presidential
Committee on Security
Challenges in the North-
East has indicted the
federal and state
governments, as well as
security agencies over the
protracted violence in the
region.
The committee said the
violence persisted because
of the failure of
governance, inadequate
security intelligence and
the existence of private
militia groups founded
and funded by politicians.
The committee's final
report, which was
submitted to the Federal
Government on Monday
at the State House in
Abuja, was received by
Vice-President Namadi
Sambo on behalf of
President Goodluck
Jonathan.
The seven-man
committee, headed by
Ambassador Usman
Galtimari, was
inaugurated by the
Secretary to the
Government of the
Federation, Senator
Anyim Pius Anyim, on
August 2, 2011. It was
asked to identify the
brains behind the violent
Islamic sect, Boko Haram,
and the grievances of the
sect.
In inaugurating the
committee which he
described as fact-finding,
Anyim had said the team
was constituted to create
a forum for a pool of
suggestions that would
guide the Federal
Government on the
desirability or otherwise of
negotiating with Boko
Haram.
While presenting the
committee's final report,
Galtimari indicted
governments at all levels,
attributing Boko Haram's
violent campaign to "weak
governance and failure to
deliver services in the
wake of huge resources
accruing to
governments."
Galtimari said, "Mr.
President, the inability of
the Federal Government
to complete useful/crucial
projects that have high
development impacts has
also not been helpful.
"In our interactions with
state governors, chiefs of
security agencies,
traditional rulers and other
stakeholders, all advised
for urgent steps to be
taken to provide
measures for economic
empowerment of the
teeming unemployed
youths in the North-East
zone.
"The committee therefore
recommends that
government at all levels
should, as a matter of
priority, initiate and design
appropriate programmes
to address the issue of
unemployment in the
zone. The committee is of
the view that the ongoing
trial of police officers
linked to the murder of
Mohammed Yusuf, the
sect leader and some of
his followers should be
expedited and publicised
to convince the public of
government's sincerity on
the matter."
Galtimari said operational
lapses among security
agencies, service rivalry,
under-funding, under-
equipment and lack of
collaboration fuelled the
violence.
"On the part of the
security forces, there are
palpable operational
lapses, service rivalry,
under-funding, under-
equipment and lack of
collaboration. In addition,
governments have failed
to deliver justice and bring
immediate relief to victims
of the crisis, he said.
Galtimari said the
committee discovered a
general failure of effective
and coordinated
intelligence gathering and
its deployment to forestall
events with undesirable
consequences in the
country.
He regretted that there
was no high level security
network/forum (outside
the statutory national
security institutions) that
could enable an informal
meeting between the
President and the
governors as well as
other top level security
stakeholders.
"The lack of an institutional
structure/arrangement to
primarily cater for inter-
religious affairs to
promote harmonious
coexistence confounded
the problems.
"Most importantly, the
committee was inundated
with series of complaints
that the increasing level of
insecurity in the country
was amongst other
reasons due to the failure
of governments to
implement reports of
various committese that
were constituted and had
submitted useful
recommendations in the
past," he said.
He also said politicians and
individuals contributed to
the lingering violence by
funding private militias
that were established,
funded, used and then
dumped after having been
trained to handle arms.
He said, "Existence of
private militias that were
established, funded and
used by politicians and
individuals and then
dumped after having been
trained to handle arms;
Presence of a large
number of almajiris who
together with those
mentioned above could
easily be used as canon
folders to ignite and
sustain crisis."
Other problems identified
by the panel are, the
"Influx of illegal aliens
resulting from porous and
unmanned borders
coupled with provocative
and inciting preaching by
some religious clerics;
Extra-judicial killing of the
sect leader Mohammed
Yusuf and some
members of the sect by
security agents; Weak
governance and failure to
deliver services in the
wake of huge resources
accruing to state and local
governments."
The committee therefore
recommended among
others, that the Federal
Government should
consider the option of
dialogue and negotiation
with the sect that has
been prosecuting a
campaign of violence in
the country.
While receiving the report,
Sambo promised Federal
Government's resolve to
implement its
recommendations to the
letter.
He said the present
administration would
depart from "business as
usual" where
recommendations made
by committees are not
implemented. He said that
the huge money
earmarked for job
creation in the budget was
an indication of the
government's desire to
tackle youth
unemployment.
On the issue of almajiris,
the VP said that the
government had already
conducted a survey that
indicated that about
9.5million of them existed
in the North.
While saying that the
government was taking
steps to put them in
boarding schools, Sambo
disclosed that the second
phase of the programme
worth over N4bn was
approved last week.
